LA Galaxy
LA GalaxyFirst Season
1996President
Chris KleinManager
Guillermo Barros SchelottoOwner
Philip AnschutzStadium
Dignity Health Sports Club, CaliforniaConference
MLS Western ConferenceLA was a city in need of a team. A city home to the ‘stars’ of Hollywood. And thus, the name LA Galaxy was born, and the team was founded in 1994. It went on to begin competing in Major League Soccer in 1996.
With current colours of white, navy blue and gold, LA Galaxy is managed by Guillermo Barros Schelotto. The club is owned by American businessman Philip Anschutz, and its president is Chris Klein.
Team spirit is high in the atmosphere, with mascot ‘Cozmo’ and ‘The Galaxy Star Squad’, the club’s official cheerleading team cheering them on to the victory- especially in close rivalries involving teams such as Los Angeles FC and the San Jose Earthquakes.
The Galaxy won their first MLS cup in 2002, and followed with victories in 2005, 2011, 2012 and 2014; making them record-breaking 5-time league champions, a record which is yet to be equaled.
Playing in a 27,000-seat facility, LA Galaxy reside in Dignity Health Sports Park, located on the campus of California State University. It is the largest soccer stadium in the USA – and only the second of its kind seen in MLS so far.
David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Zlatan Ibrahimovic: these are a mere three of many world-class players that have played for the Galaxy over the years. Others include Carlos Ruiz, Mauricio Cienfuegos, Giovani dos Santos, Robbie Keane, Ashley Cole, Landon Donovan, Cobi Jones and Alexi Lalas.
It all started in 1994; when the club was founded, and in 1996, LA Galaxy entered the MLS as one of its (then) 10 teams.
Between 1996-2002, the Galaxy’s home games were played at the Rose Bowl stadium, located in Pasadena California, equipped with over 90,000 seats. Then, in 2003, the club made the move to their current stadium: Dignity Health Sports Club.
In 2002 came the Galaxy’s first MLS Cup win, beating the New England Revolution 1-0. In 2005 this was repeated, with another 1-0 win over New England Revolution to take the Galaxy’s 2nd MLS title. These were later joined by additional titles in 2011, 2012 and 2014, making the club the first MLS club to reach 10 league titles.
On January 11th 2007, some exciting news was confirmed: the club had signed English soccer legend , David Beckham. However, Beckham isn’t the only big name to have signed with LA Galaxy. On January 7th 2015, the signing of Liverpool FC’s Steven Gerrard was announced. In March 2018, the club signed Paris Saint-Germain FC’s Zlatan Ibrahimović, who would go on to claim MLS Goal of the Year.
Season Records
| Year | MLS Regular Season | Ranking | MLS Cup Playoffs | US Open Cup | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | PTS | W | GP | GP | GP | GP | Conf | League | |||
| 2019 | 34 | 51 | 16 | 15 | 3 | 58 | 59 | 5th | 8th | Conference Semi finals | Semi-Final |
Honors
| Competitions | Titles | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| MLS Cup | 5 | 2002, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014 |
| Supporters Shield | 4 | 1998, 2002, 2010, 2011 |
| US Open Cup | 2 | 2001, 2005 |
In 2003, the Galaxy decided it was time for a change. They moved from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to the 150 million dollar Dignity Health Sports Park, located on the campus of California State University.
With a considerably large 27,000 seats, the stadium was built specifically for soccer-being only the second of its kind in the MLS.
Despite being a soccer-specific facility however, it has also proven itself as a worthy venue for other sports, hosting many World Rugby Sevens Series matches as well as high school and college American football matches.
Home Kit
Made by soccer-supplier giant Adidas, the club’s sponsor has been Herbalife Nutrition from 2007-present. The Galaxy’s home kit is predominantly white, with a navy blue sash and two thinner gold outlines going down the middle, staying true to the galaxy’s traditional white, navy and gold colours. The LA Galaxy away jersey is navy blue with the sponsors and club logo in white. The shirt itself has a striped glitch pattern, and has the ever-recognisable white adidas stripes on the sides. To present day, the Galaxy have had two logos. The original was gold with green lettering, but was changed in 2007, in correlation with David Beckham’s arrival. The new logo has a blue shield with a gold border, and the LA Galaxy team name in the centre in white, blue and gold lettering.